Morgan Giles: ‘I’m astounded by the sense of community among literary translators’
The World of Translators series wraps up with Morgan Giles, whose first full-length work, Yu Miri’s “Tokyo Ueno Station,” won the National Book Award for translated literature in 2020.
Masatsugu Ono: ‘I always feel for those on the periphery of society’
Translator and Francophile Masatsugu Ono draws on stories of his hometown in Oita Prefecture to inform his writing.
Cathy Hirano: Translation is a door to another world
Translator Cathy Hirano balances her time between freelance translations and young adult literature, and has earned accolades for both. Although her most recognized translations are for lifestyle guru Marie Kondo’s wildly popular works, starting with “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” Hirano’s translations have ...
Stephen Snyder: Distilling the essence of a literary work
In recent years, Japanese literature has earned a reputation abroad for its edgy, socially-conscious fiction, which translator Stephen Snyder, 63, has had a hand in encouraging. Snyder has translated titles like “Coin Locker Babies” by Ryu Murakami, “Out” by Natsuo Kirino and last year’s ...
Poetry and translation are intertwined for Sawako Nakayasu
For poet Sawako Nakayasu, 45, a multicultural upbringing is what forged her distinctive perspective of language and artistic expression. Nakayasu was born in Yokohama and moved to the United States with her family when she was six. Although she was raised mostly in the ...
Jeffrey Angles: Being a translator is an honor and a responsibility
Not only is Jeffrey Angles an award-winning translator of contemporary Japanese works, he’s also an award-winning Japanese poet. In 2017, the American writer received the Yomiuri Prize for Literature for his collection of poems written in Japanese, "Watashi no hizukehenkosen" (“My International Date Line”), ...
For Meredith McKinney, translations must be ‘as natural as breathing’
Inspired by haiku translated by R.H. Blythe, Meredith McKinney studied Japanese, moved to Kyoto and eventually built up a career in translating Japanese literature.
Michael Emmerich: Wisely navigating the levels of translation
The UCLA professor and professional translator says there is a distinct pleasure in developing work in prose styles that are not his own.
Motoyuki Shibata is always ready to listen to writers’ voices
The founder of the literary magazine Monkey says a translator’s first priority should be to honor the pleasure of reading.
Polly Barton: A heart set on literary translation
The Bristol-based translator balances art-related texts with literary translation and has just finished her first original work, “Fifty Sounds.”
Jay Rubin: An academic’s path to translation
To introduce our readers to translators of Japanese literature, we'll be highlighting one working translator each month, starting with Jay Rubin.
